IMAX Corporation And Douglas Family Donate IMAX Theatre To University Of Southern California's School Of Cinematic Arts

IMAX Theatre at the USC School of Cinematic Arts' Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts to be First-Of-Its-Kind Collegiate Teaching Lab
(June 04, 2014)

NEW YORK, June 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX; TSX: IMX) today announced the donation of an IMAX theatre system to the University of Southern California's (USC) School of Cinematic Arts. The theatre, which is the first teaching lab of its kind in a collegiate setting, will be installed in a new auditorium donated by Michelle and Kevin Douglas, IMAX's largest shareholders, at the USC School of Cinematic Arts' Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts a 35,000-square-foot, fully digital training center. The Michelle and Kevin Douglas IMAX Theatre and Immersive Media Lab will serve as a research facility and teaching facility for students to learn IMAX filmmaking as well as other immersive entertainment experiences including location-based entertainment and multi-player game design.

"IMAX has been a cinematic innovator since its inception more than 45 years ago," said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond. "We take our commitment to the future of entertainment very seriously and believe that through this gift we can help educate future filmmakers of the world on how to use technology to express their vision in new ways. The Lab will also give students the opportunity to learn about the latest innovations filmmaking, set design, sound and post-production. We are honored to be a part of Zemeckis Center, a world-class, state-of-the-art learning facility and it is our hope that the USC IMAX Lab will help expand every student's creative potential."

"Our partnership with IMAX and Michelle and Kevin Douglas is an incredible leap forward in offering students the most cutting edge storytelling technologies," said alum Robert Zemeckis. "The students' exploration of IMAX filmmaking and immersive storytelling will push the boundaries of the medium, creating experiences we cannot even imagine yet."

The Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts is the brainchild of legendary filmmaker and USC alumnus Robert Zemeckis. The Center is the result of an unprecedented collaboration of studios, agencies, corporations and individual leaders throughout the entertainment community. The addition of The Michelle and Kevin Douglas IMAX Theatre continues this legacy of collaboration and supports Center's mission to educate and inspire the next generation of filmmakers and digital artists.

"Our partnership with IMAX and Michelle and Kevin Douglas is critical to the School's efforts in advancing the field of IMAX filmmaking," said Elizabeth M. Daley, the Dean of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. "This gift is not only transformative for the research efforts of the School but, most importantly, puts the cutting edge immersive storytelling and virtual production tools in our students' hands."

"IMAX has remained committed over the years to building strong relationships with today's leading and most cutting-edge filmmakers. We've established a mutual trust that has enabled us to become a part of the creative process, in ways that allow many filmmakers to design their movies with IMAX in mind," said Greg Foster, Senior Executive Vice President, IMAX Corp. and CEO of IMAX Entertainment. "We are honored to be a part of the USC School of Cinematic Arts in providing the filmmakers of tomorrow a hands-on learning opportunity with the IMAX medium and inspire them to follow in the footsteps of today's most acclaimed filmmakers."

About USC's School Of Cinematic ArtsCINEMA.USC.EDUThe University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts is one of the leading media schools in the world. Founded in collaboration with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1929 over 85 years ago, the USC School of Cinematic Arts has fueled and mirrored the growth of entertainment as an industry and an art form. The School offers comprehensive programs in directing, producing, writing, critical studies, animation and digital arts, production, interactive media and games, all backed by a broad liberal arts education and taught by leading practitioners in each field. Its more than 11,000 alumni are among the world's most distinguished animators, scholars, teachers, writers, directors, producers, game designers, cinematographers, editors, sound experts and industry executives. Since 1973 not a year has passed without an alumnus or alumna being nominated for an Academy Award.

About IMAX CorporationIMAX, an innovator in entertainment technology, combines proprietary software, architecture and equipment to create experiences that take you beyond the edge of your seat to a world you've never imagined. Top filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX theatres to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, and, as such, IMAX's network is among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe.

IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, with offices in London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing. As of March 31, 2014, there were 840 IMAX theatres (707 commercial multiplexes, 18 commercial destinations and 115 institutions) in 57 countries.

This press release contains forward looking statements that are based on IMAX management's assumptions and existing information and involve certain risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are discussed in IMAX's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.